The Pillar
by Desha
Summary: Just a little drabble with Reno, set during the game prior to, during, and following the destruction of the sector 7 pillar.


The Pillar

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Author's note: I... had completely forgotten I even wrote this. XD It's not much, really, and at this point, the concept has been done a ridiculous amount of times, but I figured what the heck? Might as well post it. Enjoy!

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Gah...

Or something to that effect, at any rate. Reno's brain had yet to fully awaken this morning. Through the haze of heavy slumber and the lingering alcoholic stupor that clouded his mind, the Turk fought valiently to identify the agrivating sound that had jolted him from the peaceful sleep he'd fallen into several hours before. Annoyed and in no mood for such rude awakenings, his slender fingers coiled around the cool metal grip under his pillow.

One shot. Two shots. The noise stopped.

"Mmmph..." he grunted into the pillow. That was better. After a while, he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, and it dawned on him. He sighed and glanced in the direction he had fired, eyes falling upon mechanical remains.

"It's gonna be one of those days..." he muttered, and made a mental note to pick up another new alarm clock, briefly wondering if he could get the company to pay for it. After all, it was Shrina, Inc.'s fault he had to get up so damned early... Resigned to his fate, he heaved himself out of bed.

Rain drummed steadily against the window, in rhythm with the pounding that had started in his head, and Reno looked briefly out into the gloom as he meandered toward the bathroom. Shower. Shave. Mouthwash. Aspirin. When he finished, he yawned and peered at his reflection in the mirror.

"Oh, lovely..." he muttered, "I look like something the cat dragged in, ate, then hacked back up."

Reno raked his fingers through the tangle of damp red hair until the majority was lying down, and tied it back. He strode naked from the bathroom back into the bedroom and dug through his closet, pulling out clean... or at least fairly clean... clothes and shrugging them on.

By the time he sat down to breakfast, the rain had stopped and the sky was beginning to clear. He had a little under an hour before he was expected at headquarters. Reno downed the first cup of coffee in two gulps, cringing at the bitterness. It had the desired effect, though. He already felt more alert. The second cup he took his time with as the haze lifted and awareness reawakened. As he was gnawing on the crust of a cold slice of pizza leftover from two nights before, his PHS rang.

"Yeah? What?" he answered, his mouth still full.

'Reno... would it kill you to swallow before you answer your phone?' Tseng admonished, his voice sounding tiny and far away over the handset. Reno could just picture him rolling his eyes in exasperation, and he smirked at the mental image.

"Yes..." he said, and then he did swallow, "It just might."

'Well, before you die an untimely death, we've got an assignment to take care of,' Tseng said, taking on a more business-like tone.

"Oh yeah? How nice..." He took another bite.

'Rude and I are going after the Ancient. You, meanwhile, will neutralize our AVALANCHE problem by taking out the Sector 7 pillar.'

At that statement, Reno inhaled sharply, intending to respond... and promptly choked on the food in his mouth. He spent several moments, coughing and sputtering, and pounding his fist against his chest to dislodge his breakfast. Eventually, he managed to take a breath. Eyes still watering, he lifted the PHS back to his ear.

'Still alive?'

"More or less..." Reno croaked, "El Presidente must really have a bug up his ass about those guys if he's going to an extreme like this."

'We can discuss what crawled up Shinra's ass later. Get on it, Reno.'

And then the connection was broken. Reno pocketed the PHS and brushed some crumbs off his suit. Assassination... blackmail... kidnapping... that was one thing. But dear Holy... The Sector 7 pillar?

"Definitly gonna be one of those days..." he sighed.

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"That's all, folks! Mission accomplished," Reno said with a laugh. The countdown had started. In a few scant minutes, all that would remain of the Sector 7 slums was a pile of twisted rubble.

"We have to disarm it! Cloud! Barret! Please!" the brunette pleaded. These guys really were nothing but trouble. Ah well... he still had enough time for a little fun.

"I can't have you do that. No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks..." the Turk sneered, giving his mag-rod a quick twirl before falling into attack position.

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He awoke in a brightly lit, sterile-smelling room. Even before he opened his eyes, he had a pretty good idea where he was. Reno winced as he tried to sit up, finding that his body fully intended protest any form of movement. The pieces slid into place in his mind. The pillar... the three-on-one melee... his leap off the platform of the pillar, onto the stairwell... the less than graceful landing, and then being hauled roughly into a helicopter by Tseng.

Rude... at least he was pretty sure it had been Rude... had secured him in back as Tseng gloated to the three terrorists about the Ancient's capture. And it was at that point that his mind drew a blank. He must have been hurt worse than he'd thought. At the time, Reno had been running on pure adrenaline.

Now he opened his eyes, taking in the white surroundings.

"Uggh..."

"Nice to see you, too," said a voice from the foot of the bed. Reno raised his head minutly, and focused on the figure in front of him. Tseng stood calmly, his arms crossed, staring at the injured Turk, his cool and collected manner effectively masking his concern from anyone who didn't know better.

Reno wasn't buying it for an instant.

"Sir... I would like to take this opportunity to formally request some time off..." Reno stated, and let his head fall back against the pillow when Tseng gave a relieved snort of laughter.

God, he hated days like this.

fin 


End file.
